LaSelvaBeachART is sharing ideas and inspiration from the beach :)

Category Archives: Recipes

So I have been having trouble with some of my paintings and have been cooking more 🙂 We were supposed to meet friends for dinner and drinks last night but they got held up so I had to cook something for dinner quickly. I had a few things in the fridge to use so I came up with the below and it was so yummy. I am sure you can add more to this recipe. I really wanted some spinach in it but I was out. I am sure that would taste good too. Happy Fourth!

Ingredients:

4 large Portobello mushrooms

1 lb Italian turkey sausage

2 tablespoons of parsley chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

2 Tablespoons of olive oil and some for drizzle on top of mushrooms after cooked

1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms your choice (I used mini Portobello)

1/4 cup of gluten-free panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup of sheep’s milk feta cheese (or whatever you like)

1/4 cup of shredded goat gouda cheese for topping

First wash and de-stem the large portabello mushrooms and place on baking sheet. Next in a saucepan add olive oil and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the turkey sausage by squeezing out of casing into garlic and olive oil cooking pan. Cook thoroughly and then add parsley and mushrooms until softened. Mix the remaining ingredients (except the shredded gouda cheese, save that for the top) in a bowl then once the sausage mixture is cool add to bowl and mix together. Stuff mushrooms with mixture adding the shredded gouda on top. Cook at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes then drizzle with olive oil and you are ready to eat.

Ok I know I need to work on my photography…but this was so easy and so yummy I had to share. I of course adapted this from a recipe I found on pinterest. I added gluten free tamari (instead of soy sauce) and some red potatoes. Then for a garnish I added sheep’s milk feta from Trader Joe’s. Very easy and gluten free.

Ingredients:

Cut up whole organic chicken from Trader Joes

2-organic chicken breasts (boneless skinless are fine)

4-6 medium-sized red potatoes cubed

2 onions (any kind is fine)

3 garlic cloves minced

1 bay leaf

3/4 cup of tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)

1/4 rice vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Optional Items:

1 teaspoon of red pepper (optional my kids like it)

Sheep’s milk feta from trader joe’s (optional)

white or brown rice to serve with it (optional)

Tuscan baby kale (trader joes has an organic bag pre-cut)

Place the onions on bottom of crock pot then lay the chicken in on top. Mix the soy, vinegar, garlic and salt and pepper together and pour over chicken. Place bay leaf in with sauce and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4. Then when you have about 1.5 hours left to cook layer in the potatoes to cook till the end. The chicken falls off the bones so you have to spend a little time getting all the bones out of the pot. I add in some baby Tuscan kale in my bowl with sauce and microwave for 45 seconds to add some greens to my meal and its delicious. Add some of the sheep milk feta for a little saltier taste. Yum 🙂

I am always looking for new drink ideas. Both non-alcoholic and with alcohol :). Although I am finding as I age my tolerance is about one drink. So if I can only have one it has to be yummy. I have been trying new drinks on our vacation in Hawaii and I have to say thus spicy margarita is a favorite. It has fresh muddled jalapeño and cilantro to make it a bit spicy but good. Recipe is below give it a try and let me know what you think.

My other favorite day time staple is mango ice tea. They use puréed mango in ice tea for a yummy fresh treat. You can get the puréed mango at trader joes and easily make these at home. You decide how much mango and sweetness you want 🙂

spicy margarita

2 shots of patron gold or silver

1 shot of citronella (patron brand is good)

2 grease squeezed limes

1 slice if fresh jalapeño ( you can remove seeds to make less spicy)

1 teaspoon of fresh cilantro

top with 7 up or lemon lime soda of choice

muddle the cilantro and jalapeño together add other ingredients and ice top with 7 up and you are done. Enjoy!

Yes I know I take horrible pics but these are really good 🙂 that is my friend Marguerites hand whom I tortured this week by making her roll with rice paper wrappers for the first time. What a good friend 🙂 and I told her it is not about how they look but how yummy they are so remember that when you are rolling yours.

Also thought I would give you college update. Hailey and I had awesome weekend in San Diego. Sorry for not blogging last week, it was the first week I have missed since I started last year. Just too busy with traveling. SDSU campus has changed drastically since I went to college. It was beautiful and we had fun talking to students there. Hailey can do her undergrad kinesiology program and stay for her doctorate in Physical Therapy. The honors program makes it a smaller school for her with many resources. She is going to have a fabulous experience there. Be sure to consider it for your children if they have their major. Thanks to all my friends for listening to me agonize over the work that goes into getting your children to college and go Aztecs!

I adapted this recipe from just taste blog. I had to search out wheat free wrappers and peanut free hoisin sauce. Too many allergies in our family. Start by cooking ginger and garlic in oils for a minute or so then add ground chicken until cooked. Then add the mushrooms until soft. Remove from heat drain water and add hoisin sauce. Next add scallions and cabbage. You can make this ahead of time and leave in fridge. Next take two large plates with a lip on the and fill one with warm water to soften rice wrapper. I cover wrapper in water then move to the other plate to let sit for 30 seconds or so and soften. Next add a heaping tablespoon of cooled meat mixture to center of wrapper. Fold in sides then fold over top and roll. Set on a olive oil sprayed plate to ensure no sticking. You can continue until all are done.

You can set out dipping sauce and enjoy or if you want them a bit crispier you can spray a cookie sheet with olive oil and spray top of rolls and cook in oven for 20 minutes on 425 degrees. I like them fresh but you decide 🙂

I know I need to get better at taking photos of my salads but this was really yummy and wanted to share with you all. I was inspired by a salad I had having lunch with my brother and sister-in-law on Friday. Since it was Lent and Friday I could not eat meat so I had this yummy spinach salad with strawberries, goat cheese and raspberries. It also had pumpkin seeds but since I had none of those in my pantry I substituted sunflower seeds which were equally yummy. I won’t even tell you what my son said the pink dressing looked like 🙂 He still ate it bless his soul! Let me know if you make it. And to all of you wondering about the college process we are still waiting to hear from the UC’s. I believe they send out acceptances end of next week. I will try to blog when we are visiting San Diego next weekend and let you know what we find out. Thanks for all the kind wishes and thoughts I am sure Hailey is going to have a tough time picking which college to go to.

I made individual bowls of salad for everyone. I have some who don’t like goat cheese so I did spinach in bowls, then sliced strawberries, added raspberries, goat cheese and then sunflower seeds. I placed all ingredients in blender and mixed the dressing until it was a fun bright pink. Pour over salad mixture and you are done 🙂 if it tastes too tart add more strawberries or honey until desired sweetness. Enjoy!

Ok I know they don’t look pretty but they were yummy and way better for you than frying 🙂 I have been obsessed with crock pot meals. One they are easy and two most meals are healthier for you. Happy cooking!

Start. By mixing all the ingredients together and then adding the meat. Combine well so that the ingredients are well distributed. Next purée the tomatoes in blender with basil and garlic and olive oil. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Now pour some sauce on bottom of crockpot so the meatballs won’t stick. Next roll meatballs in 2 inch balls. Stack meatballs into crockpot and then pou remaining sauce on top of them. Cook on low for about 6 hours. I made a second batch of sauce and cooked on stove top with pasta for a meal 🙂